lineworkers

A group of electric lineworkers in central America.

It takes a certain mindset to be a lineworker. Those in the profession must be fearless yet completely committed to safety; procedure-followers who are also able to adapt and problem-solve; individuals with a work ethic that makes it unthinkable to leave a job undone.

There was just one problem. Because of political red tape, the crew had to leave before they were able to “flip the switch” and energize the lines. 

Ohio’s cooperatives have sent line crews to Guatemala four times since 2016, each on a mission to bring electricity to places where previously there was none. The celebrations in La Soledad in 2016 and Las Tortugas in 2018 when lights came on for the first time are scenes none who were there will ever forget. 

Destruction left by a hurricane

A little more than six months after Hurricane Helene rampaged through the southeastern United States, it’s become apparent that some hard-hit areas will take months or years to recover — if they ever do. 

Helene was the costliest — and one of the deadliest — storms ever to hit the United States. It came ashore in Florida in the overnight hours of Sept. 25, 2024, and dissipated only three days later near the Tennessee-Kentucky border. But in that short span, it had damaged hundreds of water and sewer systems, destroyed long stretches of entire roads, washed out countless bridges, and mangled or swept away hundreds of thousands of homes. 

An electric lineworker on a utility pole

I think we all can relate to the amazing feeling of those sunny, 70-degree days that start coming regularly in April, giving us hope that winter is finally over.  We also know that crushing feeling of 30 degrees and snow the next day — bringing us back to the reality that winter isn’t quite finished with us yet. 

A painting of a lineman working

At the end of a dead-end road in rural Hancock County, creativity unfolds in an unexpected yet aptly named setting — an open art studio called MONGallery, run by artist and entrepreneur Jennifer Sowders. 

“Drawing was one thing, but adding a medium and learning to master that is a whole other world,” she says. “Art school definitely helped with that aspect, and today I call myself a painter.”

In 2017, she rekindled her passion through a plein air painting group with the Hancock Park District. She immersed herself in painting landscapes, experimenting with acrylics, palette knives, and vibrant watercolor on Yupo paper.

A small crowd gathers next to the Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives Education Building during the Farm Science Review to watch South Central Power Company’s live line safety demonstration.

It’s not unusual for the crew of lineworkers from Lancaster-based South Central Power Company to hang around and make small talk with attendees after they’ve finished their hourly live-wire safety demonstrations at the annual

“Our guys are really good about making sure they answer everyone’s questions, and they’ll stick around as long as they need to,” says Candi Fisher, member engagement coordinator at South Central Power, who coordinates the mobile safety demonstrations for the co-op. “They could tell this older gentleman wanted to talk to them and so they went over to say hello.”

“You saved my life,” the man said. 

“That’s not something you hear every day,” Fisher says. “But he was very insistent. He made a special trip there that day to thank the guys who had saved his life.”

Dave Salmons with the trophy that gets passed around among the friends in his shooting group.

At first glance, shooting clay pigeons and working on electric power lines may not seem to have a lot in common. But Dave Salmons, who’s no stranger to either endeavor, sees some definite commonalities.

Salmons picked up the hobby about 17 years ago after visiting a local fish and game club, and quickly found it got his competitive juices flowing. Competitors walk through the woods, stopping at stations where they take aim at clay “birds” — targets mechanically thrown into the air.

Each competitor shoots 50 targets, keeping score and trying to improve over time. 

Travis Wise trained at a trade school near his home before he began his apprenticeship lineworker training for Consolidated Cooperative in Mount Gilead.

Travis Wise has been an apprentice lineworker for only about a year, but already he’s experienced the kind of extreme weather that is both the scourge of the lineworker and a source of collective pride. 

“In June, we were working 16 hours a day in 90-degree weather, for about a week,” says Wise, 22. “Then winter storm Elliott hit (in December) and we worked a lot of overtime when it was minus 30. We’ve seen the hottest of the hot and the coldest of the cold.”

“Sure, I want to be home,” Wise says. “But there are people out there who don’t have power and if we’re not out there doing this, then who is?”

Lineworkers in bucket truck

Electric cooperatives make substantial investments in the communities we serve, from the power plants that send power across the grid to your local co-op to the poles, wires, transformers, and meters that generally blend into the local landscape. These are all expensive and long-lived physical assets necessary to make your lights come on day in and day out. 

Attendees of the Ohio Farm Bureau's  ExploreAg event get an up-close look at the profession at the Central Ohio Lineworker Training Facility in Mount Gilead.

Mike Taylor was a few days away from a scheduled pre-hire lineworker assessment at Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative when his little brother, Tim, attended an Ohio Farm Bureau ExploreAg one-day program at the

ExploreAg is Ohio Farm Bureau’s signature agricultural literacy and workforce development program. The majority of its offerings, which are free, are week- and weekend-long immersion camps for high school students. Teens get a broad-spectrum look at agriculture and related STEM fields, develop their leadership and collaboration skills, and prepare for college and/or a career.